In 2013, Stenberg began performing on the violin and singing harmonies at Los Angeles venues with singer/songwriter Zander Hawley. They released their first EP in August 2015 as the folk-rock duo Honeywater. The magazine Dazed named Stenberg "one of the most incendiary voices of her generation" when it featured her on its Autumn 2015 cover.[15] She was also included in Time's list of Most Influential Teens in both 2015 and 2016,[16][17] and named to Oprah Winfrey'sSuperSoul 100 list of visionaries and influential leaders in 2016.[18] Stenberg has spoken publicly on social media about cultural appropriation.[19][20]

Stenberg co-wrote the comic book Niobe: She is Life with Sebastian Jones. The book is an offshoot Jone's graphic novel The Untamed.[21] It is set in a fantasy world and follows the journey of a half elf half human princess.[22] According to Jones its the first nationally distributed comic that has a black woman as its protagonist while also having a black woman as the author and another as the artist.[23] Jones wanted Stenberg's help in creating the comic because it revolved around a young female character.[24] The first issue, illustrated by Ashley A. Woods, was published in November 2015.[25][26] In May 2017 the pair released Niobe: She is Death, the second part of the trilogy.[27]

In June 2018, in an interview with Wonderland magazine, she came out as gay.[45][46] Stenberg is dating singer King Princess.[47]
In a July 2017 interview Stenberg stated that she had stopped using a smartphone due to its effects on mental health, and took a long break from it.[48]